“It got too hot. I can report in the morning if you’re tired.”
“As if I could fall asleep now. Come in, I’ll get you a drink, you look half frozen.”
The whiskey wasn’t quite the Ball Thawer, but it warmed him from the inside out. Valek reported what he’d learned in Sitia.
“That tracks with what Yelena reported.”
Valek relaxed back into the couch cushions as one worry of a dozen lifted from his shoulders. “When did they arrive?”
“Just this morning. Her and her friends made quite the spectacle. I’m sure the staff are placing bets on how long they stay.”
“Friends?” He was confused. Had she introduced Leif as her friend?
The Commander’s gaze turned frigid. “You mean you are unaware of her companions?”
Not good. “I sent her and her brother, Leif, here for their own safety.”
“They arrived with three others. A magician named Moon Man, a Sandseed named Tauno, and our infamous Captain Marrok.”
They managed to catch up with Yelena and Leif. Impressive.
“Yelena and her friends had excellent timing. I just received a letter from the Sitian Council. It warned me about Yelena’s renegade status and suggested she and her treasonous companions be killed on sight. Tell me why I shouldn’t execute them all?”
CHAPTER12
Valek’s heart paused. Execute Yelena, Leif, and the others? The Commander couldn’t be serious. Could he? Best to act as if he was. Jolting his heart back into action, he said, “That’s exactly what the Sitian Council wants you to do. Yelena and her companions are a threat to the Daviians. You would be doing them a favor, and not all the councilors are with Roze. Two master magicians have been arrested for treason. We have some allies in the Citadel.”
“And according to Yelena, her Councilman, Bavol Zaltana, is also an ally. Yelena wants to return to the Citadel to talk to him.”
“By herself?”
“No, she requested your aid and a few of your corps. I told her no, it’s too dangerous.”
Which just meant she would either go on her own or take her friends with her.
“I offered her a job as my adviser.”
“Did she accept?”
“Not yet.”
Another clue she didn’t plan on staying.
The Commander sipped his brandy. “She asked about her companions. I told her they could be a part of her staff, but they are not to use their magic against any Ixians without my permission.”
That was amazing progress. “Does this mean you’re not planning on executing them?”
“For now.”
“And you couldn’t have led with that?”
The Commander’s icy expression melted several degrees. “Where’s the fun in that? Although, I might tie Leif up with a big bow and send him back to the Sitians.”
“Why?”
“He had the audacity to criticize my way of governing Ixia during dinner.”
Ho boy.The Commander did not entertain often. “I’m sure Yelena told him the error of his ways.”
